This Morning viewers were unimpressed on Monday after tuning in to discover Holly Willoughby had taken the day off following a boozy appearance at the Glastonbury Festival.
The presenter, who returned to the ITV show last month following the abrupt departure of former co-host Phillip Schofield, attended the Worthy Farm event with husband Dan Baldwin after arriving by helicopter on Friday.
Trading her designer heels for a pair of Wellington boots, Holly, 42, was seen dancing with friends during a boozy 12-hour stay – her first public outing since Schofield’s dismissal.
And she was in good company, with actors Jamie Dornan and Lily James, former footballer Peter Crouch, his model wife Abbey Clancy and British royal Princess Beatrice joining the presenter inside The Rabbit Hole, one of the venue’s numerous tents.
Holly was spotted drinking cups of wine while shaking her bottom against Irish star Jamie on Friday, during which Arctic Monkeys headlined the Pyramid Stage.
Partying like there’s no This Morning: Holly Willoughby was seen dancing in The Rabbit Hole at Glastonbury on Friday, days before being replaced for Monday’s edition on her ITV show
But while she was present and correct as the three day festival got underway, her absence was noted after the opening credits rolled on Monday’s edition of This Morning.
With Josie Gibson stepping in alongside Craig Doyle, viewers were offered no reason for the unexpected no-show – but were quick to draw their own conclusions.
Taking to Twitter, once disgruntled fan wrote: ‘You’d think Holly would have thought that it’s a really bad idea to just take a day off after all the recent controversy especially after being pictured at Glastonbury.’
A second added: ‘Assuming #Holly is recovering from #Glastonbury I hope #ThisMorning don’t do anymore lecturing environmental messages when their presenters use a helicopter to get to events!!’ [sic]
Referring to last year’s ‘queue-gate’ controversy, a third joked: ‘Awww poor Holly having to recover from Glastonbury…… bet she didn’t have to queue for 12 hours either.’
A source told The Sun of her day at the festival: ‘Holly was laughing and joking with her friends from the moment she touched down.
‘They had access to the VIP Winnebago camping area but Holly seemed keen to get among the crowds.’
Holly was said to have watched headliners the Arctic Monkeys in the crowds with footballer Peter Crouch and his wife Abbey Clancy.
Here we go: Holly was spotted drinking cups of wine while shaking her bottom against Irish star Jamie Dornan on Friday
Good times: ‘She was dancing non-stop and having a ball. It was clear the stress of the past couple of months had subsided and Holly looked happier than ever’
Not happy: This Morning viewers were offered no reason for Holly’s unexpected no-show – but were quick to draw their own conclusions
The presenter socialized in the VIP area before partying at The Rabbit Hole with the likes of actress Lily and Irish star Jamie until 2am.
An onlooker added: ‘She was dancing non-stop and having a ball. It was clear the stress of the past couple of months had subsided and Holly looked happier than ever.’
It comes after her former co-host Phillip, 61, resigned from ITV and was dropped by his agency YMU after admitting to an ‘unwise, but not illegal’ affair with a younger male colleague.
Fun times: Holly Willoughby put the recent Phillip Schofield drama behind her as she partied in a ’12-hour’ boozy day out at Glastonbury with her pals on Friday
Woes: It was her first big public outing since Phillip stepped down from ITV, as he admitted to having an affair with a much younger male This Morning colleague
Partying: Holly reportedly partied and danced with the likes of Princess Eugenie, Peter Crouch, actor Jamie Dornan and Lily James (pictured) until the early hours of the morning
Since returning to This Morning on June 5, Holly has brushed off the drama surrounding Phillip’s exit and has presented This Morning with a rotation of co-hosts.
The tryst was kept secret for years until Phillip admitted to The Mail on Sunday he had lied about it having been just rumours.
He went on to confess he had misled his employer ITV, his colleagues, his friends and his then agents at the management firm YMU.
Then, in an extraordinary series of interviews, he apologized for all of the hurt he had caused.
It sparked an extraordinary domino effect for the show and ITV, with Holly having to issue a statement saying she knew nothing about it.
But Phillip insisted he had not ‘groomed’ the man, despite first meeting him when he was 15.
Drama: Since returning to This Morning on June 5, Holly has brushed off the drama surrounding Phillip’s exit and has presented This Morning with a rotation of co-hosts
Admission: Phillip, 61, resigned from ITV and was dropped by his agency YMU after admitting to an ‘unwise, but not illegal’ affair with a younger male colleague
He said: ‘Attraction is attraction. It’s no different in the gay world as it is in the heterosexual world or in the lesbian world.
‘There shouldn’t be a difference. This is where homophobia comes in. We did first meet when he was 15, I visited the drama school [he attended].
‘So yeah, there’s a difference. It’s accepted by Leonardo DiCaprio, it’s not accepted if it’s in the gay world.’
